An Overview of Cthulhu

Cthulhu, aside from being part of the namesake of the blog, is one of H.P. Lovecraft's most famous creations and for a good reason: Cthulhu is a downright sinister being from an underwater city known as R'lyeh. This city lies under the sea, away from human eyes which serves to imprison the monster until "the stars are right." He is a high priest of the Great Old Ones, unnatural "gods" who ruled the earth before humanity's emergence.

He first appeared in the short story "The Call of Cthulhu," which marks the monstrous high priest's appearance and setting the stage for the "Cthulhu Mythos" stories. Cthulhu is described indirectly when an effigy of him is found early in the story:

"It seemed to be a sort of monster, or symbol representing a monster, of a form which only a diseased fancy could conceive. If I say that my somewhat extravagant imagination yielded simultaneous pictures of an octopus, a dragon, and a human caricature, I shall not be unfaithful to the spirit of the thing. A pulpy, tentacled head surmounted a grotesque and scaly body with rudimentary wings; but it was the general outline of the whole which made it most shockingly frightful." It represented a monster of vaguely anthropoid outline, but with an octopuslike head whose face was a mass of feelers, a scaly, rubbery-looking body, prodigious claws on hind and fore feet, and long, narrow wings behind. This thing, which seemed instinct with a fearsome and unnatural malignancy, was of a somewhat bloated corpulence..."

Cthulhu is infamous for his ability to create terror and madness within the realm while he is dead. His presence is made indirectly by a troubled artist who creates a sculpture in his image. Cthulhu has cults spread throughout most of the world, including the Arabian peninsula, Greenland, Louisiana and other locations. These cults have a saying acknowleding the Old Ones' presence:

"Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn."

Translated to English, it means:

"In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming."

An cultist, known as Old Castro, explains why the Great One and his kin will only be resurrected "when the stars are right:"

"They were not composed altogether of flesh and blood. They had shape...but that shape was not made of matter. When the stars were right, They could plunge from world to world through the sky; but when the stars were wrong, They could not live. But although They no longer lived, They would never really die. They all lay in stone houses in Their great city of R'lyeh, preserved by the spells of mighty Cthulhu for a glorious resurrection when the stars and the earth might once more be ready for Them."

So how is Cthulhu's name pronounced? Chaosium, creator of the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game, offered a hint on the box which said "Can you say ku-THOOL-hoo?" In revisions of Lovecraft's stories, the spelling is sometimes "kloo-loo." According to Lovecraft, he gave his own hint on the Old One's spelling:

"The actual sound - as nearly as human organs could imitate it or human letters record it - may be taken as something like Khlul'-hloo, with the first syllable pronounced gutturally and very thickly."

"The best approximation one can make is to grunt, bark, or cough the imperfectly formed syllables Cluh-Luh with the tip of the tongue firmly affixed to the roof of the mouth. That is, if one is a human being. Directions for other entities are naturally different."

According to Cthulhu.org, the second quote from Lovecraft might be the correct one. Like others though, I tend to pronounce his name "ka-THOO-hul." It appear to me the most logical of pronunciations. The name "Cthulhu" is a complete invention of Lovecraft's, and the clever thing about the name is that Lovecraft speculated its pronounciation to be spoken other than a human voice!

Cthulhu has been mentioned in other of Lovecraft's story and in other mediums within the science fiction, fantasy and horror realms. There are even various plush toys in Dread Cthulhu's likeness!

There is no need for the stars to be right for Cthulhu to be alive, for he is very much lively in our culture.

- Kristopher